The American Geophysical Union (AGU) and its community of 130,000 worldwide in the Earth and space sciences applaud the House for introducing the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength Act of 2022 (America COMPETES) package and working swiftly to get it passed. 

This bill, with its wealth of science provisions, will help spur breakthroughs for many of the world’s most pressing challenges and drive new basic research and technological innovations that will provide benefits for decades to come. Moreover, America COMPETES is essential to ensuring that the U.S. stays economically and scientifically competitive, while protecting its national security interests.

AGU has previously endorsed or supported many of the elements in America COMPETES:

• The DOE Science for the Future Act (H.R. 3593), which will foster new science and technology initiatives in the energy sectors, accelerate construction of world-class scientific facilities, and help train the next generation workforce in an equitable and inclusive manner.
• The NSF for the Future Act (H.R. 2225), which will provide the sustained funding increases necessary to grow opportunities for high-quality STEM education, support more groundbreaking innovations, and create a more diverse and inclusive scientific community.
• The STEM Opportunities Act (H.R. 204), which would collect survey data on the current demographics of the STEM pipeline and workforce and provide resources for training and best practices for federal agencies to foster a more inclusive scientific enterprise.
• The Rural STEM Education Research Act (H.R. 210), which will expand access to K-12 STEM education, peer and mentor support, and broadband internet access for communities that have been traditionally underrepresented in science.
• The Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act (H.R. 2695), which will ensure federal agencies take meaningful steps to combat harassment in sciences and promote safe and inclusive working environments, while helping fill in gaps about the real impact of the problem.
• The Supporting Early Career Researchers Act (H.R. 144), which will provide the immediate federal investment necessary to ensure that our country’s STEM pipeline will be able to emerge from this current crisis able to take on the escalating challenges facing our country. 

America COMPETES also strikes an important balance between ensuring U.S. national security through limits on some foreign sources of research funding, while actively promoting the U.S. as a valuable and welcoming home for the international scientific researchers and collaboration that have made the U.S. a scientific and technological superpower. 

AGU applauds the swift House passage of America COMPETES and looks forward to conference with the Senate-passed United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021.  America needs these crucial investments in science and innovation to create STEM opportunities for all, revitalize our research infrastructure and develop solutions to improve the lives of everyone.